October 6, 2004  Correio da manha, the leading daily
newspaper in Portugal, caused an uproar in the Catholic world when it reported
in a front page article in its September 29 issue that "Rome is shocked with
Fatima."

According to the newspaper, the Vatican "is critical of the prayers
offered by the Dalai Lama and those of a Hindu priest in the Shrine" and has
announced to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (PEC) that they must replace
the Bishop of Fatima and the Shrine Rector. If not, the paper reported, the
Vatican will assume direct control of the Fatima shrine.

The newspaper went on to report that, according to informed sources,
members of the Vatican curia believe that Shrine officials went too far when
they recently allowed a Hindu ceremony to take place at the altar.

Fatima officials were quick to respond and held a press conference the
same day that Correio da manhas story hit the newsstands. The main
Portuguese wire service, Lusa, reported that "the Rector of the Shrine,
Luciano Guerra, today declared his willingness to continue as leader" of the
Shrine until the completion of the new basilica at Fatima, projected for 2007.
Guerra denied any knowledge of pressures for his resignation from Rome, but
admitted that the recent inter-religious events at the shrine had "caused some
discomfort in conservative Catholic sectors."

The current controversy first erupted last October when the Bishop of
Fatima, D. Serafim Ferreira e Silva and Monsignor Guerra hosted an ecumenical
conference at the Shrine of Our Lady. The conference, which featured
participants from diverse religious bodies, including Buddhists, Muslims and
African animists, was followed by press reports of a proposed plan to transform
the Fatima Shrine into an "interfaith facility."

In response to these reports, conservative and traditional Catholic
groups, led by the Fatima Center, a not-for-profit organization based in the
U.S. and Canada and headed by a Catholic priest, Father Nicholas Gruner,
immediately organized a series of mass protests, culminating in an Open Letter
of protest to Pope John Paul II and the bishops of Portugal, published in a
number of major Portuguese newspapers. In addition, Father Gruners group
gathered tens of thousands of signatures from outraged Catholics on petitions
against the proposed plan, on both the internet and through the mail.

"Weve put out more than one and a half million pieces of
literature protesting these outrages at Fatima," said Father Gruner, "including
three issues of our magazine and letter packages to every bishop in the world
and 60,000 priests as well as an almost constant stream of calls, letters and
e-mails to the Vatican and other Church leaders."

The controversy was further inflamed this May when, in apparent defiance
of the protests, Msgr. Guerra permitted a group of Hindu worshipers from Lisbon
to perform a pagan ceremony on the altar of the chapel of Our Lady on the very
spot where the Virgin Mary appeared from May to October 1917.

At his press conference on September 29, Rector Guerra attempted to
distance himself from the May 5 Hindu ceremony which he claimed "was a little
beyond his control." He announced that he would never again permit a visit of
the Hindu group "in the same manner."

John Vennari, editor of the Catholic Family News, who broke the
initial story last year, noted in response to Guerras comments that "this
new defensive language on the part of the Rector is very interesting in light
of his published remarks last June, when he denied that any Hindu ritual
ever took place at Fatima. It would appear the Rector cant quite figure
out what to say."

Christopher A. Ferrara, a Catholic commentator and civil rights attorney
who has written extensively on Fatima stated that "Guerras credibility is
now totally shot. First he said there would be no non-Catholic worship at the
Shrine. Then, when he let it happen, he declared there was nothing wrong with
it. Now he says itll never happen again. Please!"

The day after the press conference by Shrine officials, Correio da
manha published what it termed a "confirmation" of its initial story.
Journalist Hernani Carvalho reported that "uneasiness [exists] in the Roman
Curia because of ecumenism in Fatima, and quoted Portugals leading
Vaticanist, Aura Miguel, as saying that "Hindus are not supposed to perform
celebrations in the Capelinha das Aparicãoes, just as one is not
supposed to celebrate Mass in a Buddhist temple." Ms. Miguel went on to note
that "certain Church circles" are concerned by the "ambiguous explanations"
offered by Msgr. Guerra in defense of the ecumenical initiatives at the
Shrine.

Correio da manha reported further that it learned of
correspondence between the Portuguese Nuncio and the Fatima [diocese]
discussing possible new candidates for replacing the Bishop of Fatima. The
newspaper also reported that the Bishop of Fatima refused comment when asked
about his eventual replacement, and the paper noted that "the need to hold a
press conference to deny the news revealed just how nervous people are in the
Sanctuary."

In a separate report in the online edition of Portugal Diario,
Msgr. Januario Torgal Ferreira, Bishop of the Portuguese armed forces, was
quoted as confirming that what was being attacked was the work of the Rector of
the Shrine and the Bishop of Fatima, and that the attack came directly from the
highest levels of the Roman curia.

To date, the Vatican has neither confirmed nor denied the reports that
it is asking for the removal of Fatimas bishop and Shrine Rector Guerra.